It's the oldest Hollywood trick: Take a picture of something small and make it look giant. But that doesn't mean it's any less mind-bending when a Hot Wheels toy looks like a totally drivable, $1 million F1 racer.

Before CGI, when a movie blew up a train, they either had to blow up a train, or build a model,…
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WINNER: You Could Sell This Car On Ebay

As an avid model car collector and amateur photographer this week's shooting challenge was spot on. I didn't have my main camera handy so I was forced to use an ancient Sony Mavica. I took this shot of the gorgeous 1/18 Ferrari 250 GT SWB by CMC Diecast in the nearby park. I was lying on the ground trying to recreate a point of view that would simulate a real car photo. Fortunately the old Sony didn't let me down even though it store pictures on a very unreliable mini CD (!) and I'm pretty pleased with the results.
- David Bello

Night Bike

Started off by teaming her against a black t-shirt,but somehow result didn't appeal to me much.
I decided to put her in front of a well lighted background on a screen,and so began the search for a nice,night city backdrop.Found a couple and kept trying out different combinations,until finally settling for this one,against my 2008 R6,1:18. Could not find adequate lighting for the bike,hence settled for the silhouette. 1/80 sec, f/5.6. Shot on Canon 1100D.
- Neel Indap

Lewis Hamilton

This car is from the Lewis Hamilton Collector's Edition from Hot Wheels-It is one of the few, but most detailed, of the models that I own, and I knew it would probably work the best for this shooting challenge. The reflective base is due to red painted Plexi, with black Plexi in the back. I tried using a bit of smoke under the model to give it a car show vibe. It was lit from the top with a small bank of LEDs, and from the front with a small flashlight. No photoshop was used, except to convert it to the proper file sizes. Canon 5D Mark III, 70-200mm. ISO 400, F / 14, 1/2 second exposure.
- Matt Genuardi

Pharaoh Bender

An hour before this contest closed I decided to participate so I rushed around the house to find something to shoot. Then I remembered my Bender action figure and I knew I had the answer to my problem. Long story short, I got my tripod slung down low so I could get a ‘looking way up' kind of perspective. The background is a bedroom wall in the basement with light coming in through the east window. Kind of looks like a hazy sky, which worked out perfect. Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L Lens, Focal Length – 32mm, Aperture - 3.5, Shutter - 0.8, ISO – 100
- Joel Dearing

To The Tumbler!

I know the instructions said to light things up big time, but Batman in broad daylight? I waited for dark, turned off all the lights aside from a single desk lamp aimed at a wall for indirect light. Shot on a Nikon D200 at 120mm zoom, ISO 400, F/29. LONG exposure requiring a tripod and several attempts since the cat kept wanting to explore what I was doing and messing up the exposure.
- Patricia Jemison

Lambo

So I decided to disregard that tip about using a plain background. I set up my lil' Murcielago on a shoe box in front of a picture displayed on my computer monitor. Faux-sunlight provided by desk lamp. Canon 7d, Tamron Macro at 28mm, 1/40 sec., f/7.1, ISO1600
- Angelico Tolentino

Enlisted

Wanted to honor the soldiers we still have in action fighting the good fight, and to commemorate my enlisting into the U.S. Army. Used a realistic scale figurine placed in the yard at night with tungsten lighting. Cropped, contrast adjustment, white balanced and vignetted. Canon T2i Canon 15-85mm @85mm f10 30sec ISO100
- Bobby Triantos

The Final Frontier

I figured EVERYONE was going to be shooting die cast cars, I wanted to do something different. So, I took my Art Asylum Enterprise E and shot it. This was on my Nikon D200 with a 55-200mm lens at ISO 400. I was zoomed to 95mm. All I did for post was standard sharpening and a bit of darkening. The background is one of the Hubble Deep Field that I borrowed from public sources.
- Joe Burke

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This challenge was an unbelievable amount of fun, wasn't it? Maybe the best tip I wish I'd dug up was simply "put a model in front of a computer monitor." Fantastic work by all, and kudos to those of you who had the boldness to stray from the automotive industry. See the full gallery below and download the wallpapers on flickr.